What you need to know
The Dominican Republic, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States of America are known as the designated markets. They have quotas in place that govern how much of certain dairy products will receive beneficial export rates. If you want to export dairy products to the designated markets, you'll need to do so under the dairy quota programme. There are several steps to follow before you can export a product:
- be a registered dairy exporter
- hold an export licence for the designated market
- hold an approved Quota Compliance Programme (QCP) for the export of dairy quota product
- receive export approval for each consignment
- ensure you meet the import requirements of the designated market.
The designated markets
The Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA) 2001 (Schedule 5A) lists the markets under the programme.
The table below shows these markets, the dairy products, the total quota allocation, and the quota year.
Designated market | Product | Total quota allocation | Quota year |
---|---|---|---|
Dominican Republic |
Milk powder |
4,800,000 kilograms |
1 January to 31 December |
European Union (EU) |
Butter |
74,693,000 kilograms |
1 January to 31 December |
European Union (EU) |
Cheddar cheese |
7,000,000 kilograms |
1 January to 31 December |
European Union (EU) |
Cheese for processing |
4,000,000 kilograms |
1 January to 31 December |
USA |
Low fat cheese |
1,000,000 kilograms |
1 January to 31 December |
USA |
Not specifically provided for (NSPF) cheese |
6,506,528 kilograms |
1 January to 31 December |
USA |
American type cheese |
238,001 |
1 January to 31 December |
USA |
Cheddar cheese |
5,403,532 kilograms |
1 January to 31 December |
Japan |
Prepared edible fat |
11,550,000 kilograms |
1 April to 31 March in the following year |
United Kingdom |
UK WTO tariff quota butter |
27,516,000 kilograms |
1 January to 31 December |
United Kingdom | UK WTO tariff quota cheddar cheese | 2,639,000 kilograms | 1 January to 31 December |
United Kingdom | UK WTO tariff quota cheese for processing | 2,330,000 kilograms | 1 January to 31 December |
United Kingdom | UK Transitional tariff rate quota Butter |
7,000,000 Kilograms¹ |
1 January to 31 December |
United Kingdom | UK Transitional tariff rate quota cheese |
24,000,000 Kilograms¹ |
1 January to 31 December |
¹UK Transitional tariff rate quota for butter and cheese are transitional quotas as set out in Annex 2A of the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement , see below table for total quota allocation amounts for each quota year.
Quota Year | UK Transitional tariff rate quota butter total quota allocation (Kg) | UK Transitional tariff rate quota cheese total quota allocation (Kg) |
2023 | 4,123,288² | 14,136,986² |
2024 | 9,000,000 | 30,000,000 |
2025 | 11,000,000 | 36,000,000 |
2026 | 13,000,000 | 42,000,000 |
2027 | 15,000,000 | 48,000,000 |
2028+ | Unlimited | Unlimited |
²The total amount has been prorated based on the date the Free Trade Agreement Between New Zealand and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is ratified.
Find out more
- Read more about the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001
- Dairy Industry Restructuring Act – NZ Legislation website